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    Cooking Gorgeous » MSN Posts

    Healthy Iftar Recipes

    Published: Feb 28, 2025 by Ayla Clulee · This post may contain affiliate links.

    From hearty soups to protein-rich mains and refreshing salads, these healthy Iftar recipes are perfect for gathering, reflecting, and nourishing the body after a day of fasting. Choosing balanced meals helps restore energy while keeping digestion light and steady. Made with fresh ingredients, simple cooking methods, and natural flavors, these dishes provide comfort without feeling heavy.

    Hashweh - Lebanese Beef and Rice

    Lebanese ground meat and rice dish served in a bowl
    Ayla Clulee

    Hashweh is a lightly spiced delicious Lebanese dish made with seasoned minced beef, fluffy rice, and toasted pine nuts. This comforting one-pot meal is easy to prepare yet full of warm, aromatic spices that bring out the richness of the meat. It is traditionally served as a hearty main dish or as a stuffing for vegetables, poultry, or lamb.

    To learn more: Hashweh - Lebanese Ground Beef and Rice

    Hummus

    Ayla Clulee

    Hummus Dip is a Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern spread made with chickpeas and tahini, then seasoned with lemon, garlic, and cumin. You can serve it with Greek Pita Bread, Homemade Wheat Tortilla Bread, or Garlic Naan (Indian Flatbread) as well as some colorful crudités (sliced vegetables), Extra Crispy Halloumi Fries, or Lebanese Falafel balls as an appetizer.

    To learn more: Mediterranean Hummus Dip

    Rice Stuffed Chicken

    rice stuffed roasted chicken recipe
    Ayla Clulee

    This delicious Rice Stuffed Chicken is a great dish for festive dinners and small gatherings or as an alternative to traditional Roast turkey. It is a special way to roast a chicken, and definitely feels like a treat! Making this scrumptious stuffed roast chicken is surprisingly easy and straightforward.

    To learn more: Rice Stuffed Chicken

    Red Lentil Soup

    Ayla Clulee

    Turkish Red Lentil Soup (Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi in Turkish) is a light, nutritious, and comforting soup made with red lentils, vegetables, spices, and stock. 

    This extremely delicious & creamy soup is super easy to make, and ready in just 30 minutes, perfect dish for Iftar dinner!

    To learn more: Turkish Red Lentil Soup - Kirmizi Mercimek Corbasi

    Turkish Rice Pilaf

    turkish rice pilaf with orzo recipe
    Ayla Clulee

    Turkish Rice Pilaf with orzo (Sehriyeli Pilav in Turkish) has been a staple food and has always enjoyed a special status in Turkey for centuries. It is a great side to accompany many Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean dishes.

    To learn more: Turkish Rice Pilaf (Sehriyeli Pilav)

    Hunkar Begendi

    Hunkar Begendi (sultans delight)
    Ayla Clulee

    Hünkar Beğendi (or Sultan's Delight) is an authentic Turkish lamb and aubergine recipe dating back a few hundred years. This delightful dish is made of succulent lamb stew served on smokey and cheesy aubergine purée. It is a very easy dish to put together yet has a luxurious feeling to it when you put the first bite in your mouth.

    To learn more: Hünkar Beğendi (or Sultan's Delight)

    Tabboule

    taboule garnished with pomegranate seeds
    Ayla Clulee

    This Taboule Recipe (Lebanese Tabouli Salad) is a refreshing and healthy Middle Eastern salad made with fresh parsley, tomatoes, and bulgur. It is full of flavor, color, and nutrition and is extremely easy to make with just a handful of ingredients.

    To learn more: Taboule (Lebanese Tabouli Salad)

    Lamb and Chickpea Stew

    Turkish lamb stew with chickpeas is cooked in the oven for 2 hours
    Ayla Clulee

    Turkish Lamb Stew with Chickpeas (a.k.a Nohut Yahni or Chickpea Soup) is a traditional Turkish dish made with diced lamb, chickpeas, and pearl onions. 

    It is an easy, one-pot dish and great comfort food, especially for cold winter days.

    To learn more: Turkish Lamb Stew with Chickpeas 

    Muhallebi

    a spoonful of muhallebi dessert garnished with wild strawberry and pistachio
    Ayla Clulee

    Muhallebi (or Mahalabia / Muhallabieh/Mouhalabieh) Dessert is a light, creamy, and delicious milk pudding that's popular throughout Turkey and the Middle East. 

    This popular Muhallebi dessert recipe only requires 5 ingredients and comes together in just 20 minutes.

    To learn more: Muhallebi - Mahalabia Dessert

    Semolina Halva

    shape them with a spoon or a small fold
    Ayla Clulee

    Irmik Helvasi (Turkish Semolina Halva) is a traditional dessert widely popular in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. This delicious pudding is enriched with butter & pine nuts and then soaked in hot syrup.

    What makes this Turkish Semolina Halva dessert recipe so special is that it is extremely easy to make and can be prepared with a few ingredients.

    To learn more: Irmik Helvasi (Turkish Semolina Halva)

    « Hashweh - Lebanese Ground Beef and Rice
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    Welcome to Cooking Gorgeous, where delicious easy-to-follow recipes and culinary inspiration await you! My name is Ayla Clulee, a passionate and professional Cordon Bleu-trained chef, recipe developer, and food content creator with decades of experience. I am based in the UK, and I'm thrilled to have you here.

    The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy.

    More about me →

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